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What Widows Should Look For In a Trusted Financial Advisor

November 18, 2021 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

Reading Time: 2 minutes

On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, we’ll interview Kathleen Rehl on what widows should look for in a trusted financial advisor. Unfortunately, many financial wolves in sheeps clothing prey upon new widows. During a time of loss, widows may seek advice, counsel, and refuge in the wrong places bring about financial catastrophe. On the flip side, a widow may have a financial advisor who’s sincere, but doesn’t seek to connect on an emotional level. During this episode, Kathleen gives key factors of what to look for in a trusted financial advisor.

We would love to help you organize your financial junk drawers and help you organize your widowhood timeline and help you sort through the decisions that need to be made immediately, in the short-term and in the long-term. Keep in mind that at Intelligent Investing, we do not sell any products such as annuities or insurance products. As fiduciaries we want to do what is in our clients’ best interests at all times. We’d love to let you learn more about our firm to see if we’d be a good fit to work together. To schedule a complimentary call or coffee click here.

Please be sure to subscribe to our podcasts as we will be interviewing Kathleen on an upcoming podcast where she explains how to simply write a legacy letter to your family and friends. You will not want to miss it. You can purchase Kathleen’s book here.

Kathleen Rehl Bio

Kathleen M. Rehl, Ph.D., CFP®, CeFT® wrote the multi-award-winning book, Moving Forward on Your Own: A Financial Guidebook for Widows. Experiencing widowhood herself, Dr. Rehl empowers widows financially™ and inspires their advisors. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, AARP Bulletin, CNBC, USA Today, U.S. News & World Report, Journal of Financial Service Professionals, Journal of Financial Planning, and other publications. Rehl owned a financial planning firm for 17 years before retiring to her “encore” career. She walks an hour daily, practices yoga, enjoys art and music festivals, writes poetry and makes art, loves her grandsons . . . and continues to evolve on her journey.

Widows Are Still Hot! Trends in Widowhood

November 4, 2021 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: < 1 minute

On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, we’ll interview Kathleen Rehl on trends in widowhood. The yearly census shows that, on average, one million women become widowed. During this episode, Kathleen defines her proprietary word Wid-Ex and how it impacts widowhood life. Wid-Ex will affect millions of women in the upcoming years and can have long lasting implications.

As Kathleen mentioned, there are more widows as a result of COVID-19, and widowhood is being talked about more as widows are being featured more and more in our entertainment. Kathleen also introduced us to a concept she terms, “Wid-Ex” where a widow can find herself grieving when an ex-husband passes away.

Kathleen Rehl Bio

5 Steps to Leaving a Legacy Letter

October 28, 2021 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: < 1 minute

On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, we’ll interview Kathleen Rehl on 5 steps to leaving a legacy letter. Kathleen says, “you can give loved ones a far more precious treasure that’s a legacy of who you are.” The task of leaving a lasting written memoir may seem daunting. During this episode, Kathleen breaks down each step of writing a legacy letter so anyone can do it.

As Kathleen mentioned, the five steps to writing a legacy letter are

Who (who are you writing it for)
Gratitude or thank you statement
Life Lessons (Three things life has taught you)
Values (What matters most to you) and
A closing statement/quote/poem

To get a link where you can see this legacy letter template and see it in action, click here.

Kathleen Rehl Bio

Why Should I Leave a Legacy Letter?

October 14, 2021 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

On today’s Intelligent Money Minute, we’ll interview Kathleen Rehl on why you should leave a legacy letter. It’s wise to have your final will and testament in order, but your possessions aren’t the most valuable gift for family and friends. Kathleen says, “you can give loved ones a far more precious treasure that’s a legacy of who you are.” During this episode, Kathleen talks about the priceless value of leaving your family and friends a legacy letter.

Your family will likely read and re-read a legacy letter should something happen to you. As Kathleen said, your family will likely pull out and look at a legacy letter that you have written more often then they will pull out your final will and testament. We also talked about our core values which spell out the word, CLIENT. If you’d like to know more about Intelligent Investing’s core values, please visit here.

Kathleen Rehl Bio

Sticking to the Plan & Avoiding Behavioral Finance Mistakes

April 29, 2021 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

On this episode of Intelligent Money Minute, we interview Matt Hougan, Chairman of Inside ETFs on sticking to the plan in the midst of fear. Despite being the founder of ETFs.com, Matt isn’t unlike other investors in regards to portfolio concerns. Matt says it himself that he worries about the same things that a lot of people worry about. During this episode, he mentions the 4o year-long bond bull market and equity evaluations as personal concerns. Despite these concerns, Matt stresses the importance of sticking to a long-term investment strategy in the midst of fear. One thing will remain, the potential that humans will misbehave. That’s why it’s critical to not be fearful or greedy in finance.

When we meet with prospective clients, one of the first steps we take is to have prospects take a state-of-the-art risk questionnaire. Our approach uses a Risk Number built upon a Nobel Prize-winning framework, and every client receives a unique risk number. The risk number is a way to understand your willingness to take on risk. We also will discuss your ability to take on risk, your need for risk, and explore what your current portfolio risk is. We’d be happy to setup a complimentary call or meeting. You can book a call or meeting by clicking “Get Started.”

Matt Hougan Bio

Matt Hougan is one of the world’s leading experts on crypto, ETFs, and financial technology. He is Global Head of Research for Bitwise Asset Management, creator of the world’s first cryptocurrency index fund. Hougan is also Chairman of Inside ETFs, the world’s largest ETF conference. He was previously CEO of ETF.com, where he helped build the world’s first ETF data and analytics system. Hougan is co-author of the CFA Institute’s Monograph on ETFs. He’s also a crypto columnist for Forbes, and a three-time member of the Barron’s ETF Roundtable. For more resources from Matt Hougan click here.

The 3 Solutions to the Biggest Financial Problems HENRYs Face

April 7, 2021 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

Reading Time: 3 minutes

First of all, nobody likes to be labeled, and there are always exceptions to the rule, but HENRY is an acronym that stands for High Earner Not Rich Yet (coined by Fortune in 2003). HENRYs are young doctors, lawyers, engineers, or other top-earning professionals who have a high salary but don’t have time to manage investments. They are in the process or have finished paying off student loans and are beginning to accumulate a nest egg. They may have a young family and are becoming an expert in their professional field. Essentially HENRYs are young professionals who have a high salary but don’t have time to manage investments.

A couple of quick stats: Many HENRYs are Millennials who like control and technology, and make up the largest generation. They have the highest number of billionaires and are digital do-it-yourselfers. 25% aren’t sure how their retirement savings are invested, and 80% are concerned Social Security won’t be there for them when they retire.

People make money in many ways, but often don’t know what to do with it after they’ve made it. In a prior blog, we wrote about some of the biggest financial problems a HENRY faces: The 4 Ds. To quickly summarize, they are: Debt, Direction, Discipline, and Digital Dangers

Sometimes HENRYs fool themselves into thinking they can just “Google” their financial or investment questions. Unfortunately, it’s not that easy. Market conditions and economic forecasts change constantly. Technology can beat humans at computations, but I also believe it is best to receive wisdom from a human who understands investor behavior and who leverages integrated technologies.

So, now that we’ve covered some of the biggest financial problems a HENRY faces, How do we overcome them? Three Ps

Have a Plan, Be Patient, and Form a Financial Partnership

First, Have a written plan

Only 30% of Americans have a long-term financial plan. “If you don’t have a plan, you’ll be part of someone else’s.” Terrence McKenna
Start by writing out your long-term goals (5-10 year). Then, write out the big stepping stones (say, your 1-year goals) that will help you get there. Then write out the action steps to get you to those stepping stones. (breaking it down into quarters, months, and even weeks)
Remember, “A goal without a plan is just a wish.”

Second, Be Patient

Warren Buffett’s favorite holding period — forever — has few fans these days.
The length of time that investors hold shares has been shrinking for decades but the trend has been exacerbated due to COVID-19. People have too much time on their hands, they have been given stimulus checks and told to stay at home. This is a recipe for disaster, and has caused people to become nervous about sitting on investments for too long. The average length of time shares spend in a portfolio hitting record lows this year as investors surf wild market swings for quick gains.

Third, form a financial partnership

I often see young professionals partner with an inexperienced or wrong advisor. Perhaps they use a buddy they went to school with who took a 40 hour class that taught them how to sell a certain financial product such as whole life insurance. So, Be sure to check his or her credentials.
Be sure to understand the financial advisor’s conflicts of interest. Many times brokers make money based off of transactions, so they are motivated for you to buy and sell, which can cause unnecessary expenses in your portfolio.
There are many good financial advisors out there, and our firm, Intelligent Investing is a fee-only independent fiduciary firm. A fiduciary means we must do what is best for our clients at all times and strive to put you into a portfolio that matches your willingness to take on risk. Perhaps look for an advisor who does not sell any financial products such as insurance or annuities, and is incentivized to have your portfolio grow. Fear and Greed are everyone’s two biggest enemies when it comes to money, so ideally, look for a financial partner, who can provide a trustworthy lifelong human relationship and financial accountability.

Many HENRYs and millennials agonize over making decisions–such as choosing a financial advisor. However, they ignore the opportunity cost of our time. For instance, if you spend months thinking about whether to make a career change, you will have lost time that you could have spent actually building your new career. Instead, set a time limit for any decision you face and consider outsourcing to other professionals who are experts in their respective fields. You may enjoy running the numbers, but you need a financial accountability partner as a second pair of eyes to ensure you are on track.

How to Get Started with Cryptocurrency

April 1, 2021 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

We asked Matt how someone new to investing can get started with cryptocurrency. Matt explains that strict guide rails are critical to cryptocurrency. He stresses don’t overdo it because cryptocurrency is a highly volatile investment. Even a small amount of crypto can have a dramatic impact on a portfolio. Second, never put all the proverbial eggs in one basket. Matt suggests that an appropriate crypto index fund or even spreading the investment among the top-performing assets may be right for certain investors. Finally, it matters who you partner with within the crypto space.

At Intelligent Investing, we believe in Diversification– the spreading of risk and reward across various factors and asset classes. Matt highlighted several risks with investing in cryptocurrency and reasons why it should be a very small minority of your portfolio if you decide to include it in your portfolio.

This podcast is not a recommendation to buy or not to buy cryptocurrency. Before you ever invest in anything, you should perform lots of due diligence and research, especially if the investment is relatively new. You should also consider how investing impacts your overall risk and financial plan. Remember, if you never own enough of any one thing to make a killing in it, then you probably won’t have to worry about owning so much of that thing, that you get killed by it.

Matt Hougan Bio

The Risks of Cryptocurrency & Bitcoin

February 10, 2021 by Hans Blake, CFA, CPA

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Reading Time: 2 minutes

On this episode of Intelligent Money Minute, we interview Matt Hougan, Chairman of Inside ETFs on the risks of cryptocurrency and bitcoin. From bitcoin to dogecoin to chainlink, cryptocurrency is a reigning hot topic in the financial realm. That being said, there’s an influx of information and “success” stories making it hard to learn the benefits and or risks of this new age of finance. Matt Hougan is optimistic about the potential future of cryptocurrency, but there are significant risks as well. First, there’s massive behavioral risk in cryptocurrency. For example, Bitcoin has been highly volatile despite its high returns causing people to chase returns or to panic at the bottom. Second, there are potential future legislation concerns or a lack of proper controls on cryptocurrency.

As Matt mentioned, there are a number of risks out there, and always be something to fear. At Intelligent Investing, one of our wealth management principles is Faith in the future.
We want to maintain a positive outlook on life, even when things appear dark or grim. We also believe in Diversification– the spreading of risk and reward across various factors and asset classes. If you never own enough of any one thing to make a killing in it, then you shouldn’t have to worry about owning so much of that thing, that you get killed by it.